Tag Archives: Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.”Bill Gates

By Alex P. Vidal

LOS ANGELES, California — I talked to businessman Adriano “Rey” Golingan, Manny Pacquiao’s spiritual adviser two nights before the Fight of the Century on May 2 at the MGM Grand, while we were at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Gen. Santos City-based Golingan, a friend of former San Joaquin Iloilo mayor Daisy Sibya, said he asked the 36-year-old eight-time world titlist if there was still a chance for them to pray the rosary a night before the bout against Mayweather Jr. like what they have been doing in the past.
“Pacquiao answered me that when he prays he goes directly to the Lord now,” Golingan narrated.
“So there’s no chance anymore for us to be praying again for the intercession of Mama Mary?” he allegedly told the people’s champion.
Pacquiao did not answer him, he said.
On several occasions in the past, I saw Golingan lead the praying of the rosary at least two nights before Pacquiao’s battles against Juan Manuel Marquez (second and third matches), Oscar De La Hoya, David Diaz, Joshua Clottey and Shane Mosley, which he had all won.
In 2010 when Pacquiao incurred back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and Marquez (in their fourth meeting), Golingan said Pacquiao did not anymore pray the rosary.
They did not pray the rosary before the Mayweather Jr. fight, but Pacquiao read the Bible several times together with his pastor friends.
I’m not insinuating something.
The story was narrated to me personally by Golingan himself two nights before Mayweather Jr. scored a lackluster 12-round unanimous decision against Pacquiao.
Was it a superstition or a mere coincidence?

****

IF the system can be adopted in the Philippines, we can save a lot of taxpayers’ money and finance social and health programs and activities for the poor.
Automation and paperless transactions.
The United States government has eliminated paperworks in most of their agencies, a move that enabled them to save money and reduce their expenses.
We learned this when we arrived on April 27 and when we recently went to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew our driver’s license.
Like other foreign visitors who arrive via air or sea, there was no longer need for us to complete paper Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record or Form I-94W Nonimmigrant Visa Waiver Arrival/Departure Record.
Our application or renewal of driver’s license will not be accommodated if we don’t bring the downloaded and printed copy of our I-94 Admission Number along with all of our birth date and legal presence documents.

PASSPORT

Several years ago, we only presented our passport and the forms we filled up in the DMW.
Not anymore today. No copy of I-94 Admission Number, no identification card or driver’s license.
If we need to prove ourr legal-visitor status—to employers, schools/universities or government agencies—we can access our CBP arrival/departure record information online.
CBP now gathers travelers’ arrival/departure information automatically from their electronic travel records.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection explains that because advance information is only transmitted for air and sea travelers, CBP will still issue a paper form I-94 at land border ports of entry.
Meaning that if travelers need the information from their Form I-94 admission record to verify immigration status or employment authorization, the record number and other admission information they are encouraged to get their I-94 Number.

STAMPS

Upon arrival, a CBP officer stamps the travel document of each arriving non-immigrant traveler with the admission date, the class of admission, and the date that the traveler is admitted until.
If a traveler would like a paper Form I-94, one can be requested during the inspection process.
All requests will be accommodated in a secondary setting.
Upon exiting the U.S., travelers previously issued a paper Form I-94 should surrender it to the commercial carrier or to CBP upon departure.
Otherwise, CBP will record the departure electronically via manifest information provided by the carrier or by CBP.
The automation has streamlined the entry process for travelers, facilitated security and reduced federal costs. CBP estimates that the automated process will save the agency $15.5 million a year.

LOS ANGELES, California — HAS the water crisis become a global phenomenon?
Barely two weeks since the Iloilo City Council in the Philippines declared the city under a “state of imminent water crisis” due to projected prolonged drought, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWCB) has approved an emergency 25 percent cut in the cities’ water use.
The Council declaration in Iloilo City came as a response to the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (ICDRRMC), chaired by Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, which made a resolution to allocate P3 million for possible water rationing.
It emphasized the need for funds “in preparation for long drought as brought by the prolonged dry spell has identified possible alternative water distribution mechanisms and alternative water sources.”
This will enable metro villages to prepare their calamity funds now that many villages have reported that their wells have dried up, according to Mabilog.

PORTRAIT

California data released May 5 painted a stark portrait of the uphill struggle Californians face in achieving a mandated 25 percent reduction in urban water use, with one official joking grimly that dealing with severe drought was similar to grappling with the five stages of grief.
Reports said cumulative water savings since last summer totaled only 8.6%, according to the State Water Resources Control Board, far short of the historic reduction outlined in an April 1 executive order by Gov. Jerry Brown.
ICDRRMC said at the same time, most of the state’s water suppliers issued 20 or fewer notices of water waste in March even though they have received thousands of complaints.
“It’s a collective issue we all need to rise to. I keep thinking that we are in some stages of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,”Felicia Marcus, the water board chairwoman, told the Los Angeles Times, referring to the psychiatrist who wrote “On Death and Dying.”
“It’s a collective issue we all need to rise to. I keep thinking that we are in some stages of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross,” said Felicia Marcus, the water board chairwoman, referring to the psychiatrist who wrote “On Death and Dying.”

DISCLOSURES

The paper reported that the disclosures came as board members May 5 night unanimously approved new conservation regulations set to take effect in time for summer, when outdoor water use traditionally accounts for 50 percent to 80 percent of residential consumption.
It quoted water board staff scientist Max Gomberg as saying that California residents and businesses used only 3.6% less water in March than they did during the same month in 2013, the baseline year for savings calculations.“We need to do more,” Gomberg told the LA Times. “Conserving now and over the summer is imperative.”
Despite the meager savings, some outside experts said it was still possible for the state to achieve the governor’s goal in the coming months.
Brown is seeking hefty fines for water wasters, and some local water agencies have been crafting tougher conservation plans in recent weeks.
In the Philippines, the P3 million fund can be mobilized once Iloilo City is declared under crisis, said Councilor Joshua Alim who blamed the Metro Iloilo Water Districs (MIWD)’s inability to supply sufficient water because of narrow pipes.
The fund can be used to buy water containers for water distribution in affected barangays and for fuel expenses in transporting the water.

***
EVEN in California, bettors who lost in the Fight of the Century continued to bemoan the lackluster performances of both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Many Hispanics claimed they were shocked when Pacquiao, who is now facing sanctions from the Nevada State Athletic Commission for his failure to disclose a shoulder injury before the bout at the MGM Grand Arena, peformed below expectations.
“What happened?” Mario Sosa, a customer in a T-Mobile store in the City of Lake Forrest, asked this writer. “I haven’t tasted a free dinner from my wife, who offered to give me one if Pacquiao would win.”
“I expected too much from Pacquiao because videos released on TV before the fight showed he was prepared and very strong. But during the fight, he hardly threw punches and it was the defensive fighter (Mayweather Jr.) who was the one initiating the fight.”
Former San Miguel, Iloilo councilor Reynaldo “King” Uy said he and his fellow bettors in the Filipino community lost heavily believing that Pacquiao would beat Mayweather Jr. “even only on points.”
“Some of our kababayans lost their salary equivalent to one month,” he revealed. “Others lost $5,000. Many of them are still shocked.”
Las Vegas Filipino community leader Raul Sabido, who collected all the bets from his California friends for Pacquiao, said he is now convinced that Mayweather is the better boxer pound-for-pound.
“Pacquiao should stop giving excuses. Let’s move forward,” said Sabido, president of the Central Philippine University Alumni Association Las Vegas Chapter.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Instead of ribbing Floyd Myweather Jr. for “running away like a scared rabbit”, we must, in fact, credit him for giving justice to boxing’s billing as the “Sweet Science.”
Daniel Petrov Bojilov exposed our ignorance when we lambasted the five-man jury for awarding the lightflyweight (48-kg) gold to the tall Bulgarian who reduced Mansueto “Onyok” Velasco Jr. into a homunculi during the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.
Like Mayweather Jr., who jabbed and bicycled his way to a 12-round unanimous decision victory against Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand Arena, Bojilov used science to the fullest to bamboozle the smaller Velasco.
Some of us are again displaying utter ignorance if not lack of understanding why scientific boxers like Bojilov and Mayweather can be dominant when matched against sluggers or brawlers like Velasco and Pacquiao.
Mayweather Jr.’s mastery of the ring was a mixture of science, skills, intelligence, size and reach.
Scientific fighters usually have long legs and a thin frame like Salvador Sanchez, alexis Arguello, Aaron Pryor, Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Hector Camacho in the lighter division; and Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Evander Holyfield in the heavy category.
They throw punches like windmills and their movements synchronize with how their brains work while weaving and boobing.
Sicentific fighters maintain springy legs which they use in order to stay away from danger zones.
Mayweather effectively utilized his footwork and crisp jabs to hold Pacquiao at bay and made the Filipino lefty eat the dust.
Scientific fighters look awkward when they avoid head-on collisions but that’s how they are made of; they just can’t dance in the tune of a brawler who demands a slugfest by enforcing their own program of works in the ring.
Scientific fighters flick a jab, display cunningness and a virtuoso of ability meant to confuse and befuddle a brawler.
Brawler Pacquiao wanted to come in on various occasions but hesitated for fear of being zapped by Mayweather’s laser-laced left hook.
Pacquiao lacked activity. His work rate was dismal and timid.
There was no more fire in his belly and Pacquiao’s eyes were no longer emitting volcanic fireballs.
Pacquiao was simply outshuttled, outgunned and outjabbed by a superior fighter who confirmed the dominance and mastery of scientific boxers with amazing amateur background.
Mayweather was a bronze medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He fought and swapped tongs and hammer vis-a-vis the best amateur simonpures in Europe, Asia, Africa before he became a prizefighter.
Pacquiao, “Kid Kulafu” in a brief amateur life that was never tested in the national amateur boxing championships or any AIBA-sanctioned tournament, never fought the best Cuban and Bulgarian amateur World Cup champions en route to turning professional in 1995 via a four-round scrapper.
In a nutshell, there’s a whale of difference between a street-fighting slugger and brawler with no fundamentals like Pacquiao, who topples opponents on sheer guts and power, and a smart aleck, Olympic Games-cultivated, tall and fast titan like Mayweather Jr.
In a truest sense of the word, running or showboating is not an act of cowardice. It’s science. It’s brilliancy personified.

“In boxing, you never know who you’re going to face in the ring.” Manny Pacquiao

By Alex P. Vidal

LOS ANGELES, California — What Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. haven’t signed yet is the contract for a rematch in February 2016, not the contract for the May 2 welterweight unification fight in Las Vegas, Nevada as reported on the internet recently.

Sources said part of the pre-contract signing agreement for the May 2 Fight of the Century is for Mayweather Jr. to announce the rematch in the event both parties have already signed the rematch contract’s dotted lines.

Thus no report came out since January this year about the possible rematch.

Both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. have denied they will face each other in a rematch probably to avoid confusion and to bring focus only on the May 2 event.

Even Top Rank CEO Bob Arum’s mouth is sealed.

No one from the camp of Team Mayweather will confirm the February 2016 rematch pending the result of the first fight to be jointly telecast by HBO and Showtime on a pay-per-view.

LOPSIDED

There can only be no rematch, our sources said, if Mayweather Jr. will trounce Pacquiao in a lopsided contest.

But if Mayweather Jr. will nip the Filipino congressman in a close decision, “a rematch will make sense,” asserted Kevin Lolo of Yahoo Sports.

A rematch maybe possible if Pacquiao will destroy the undefeated reigning WBA/WBC 147-lb titleholder, who hails from Las Vegas.

A week before the titanic tussle in the gambling capital of the world, fightnews.com released a full list of things fans didn’t know about Mayweather Jr. and Pacquiao.

Mayweather, 38, averages over 1,000 sit-ups while Pacquiao, 36, averages 2.500 sit-ups a day during their training camps.

Pacquiao starts his day reading the Bible, while Mayweather Jr.’s morning routine includes brushing his teeth for straight 10 minutes.

HOME

Mayweather Jr. gets a manicure and pedicure at home once a week during training camp, while Pacquiao is followed by some 500 fans on his morning runs in Los Angeles.

Pacquiao eats five meals and consumes 8,000 calories daily to keep his weight and energy up, while Mayweather Jr. eats food cooked and heated up on a stove and in an oven, not in a microwave.

Pacquiao doesn’t drink cold water because he believes it is not healthy. He drinks only hot or room temperature water.

Mayweather orders a glass of hot water when he is out to eat, to let his silverware soak in the glass before using them.

Two heavyweight superstars have picked Pacquiao to win: Mike Tyson and George Foreman, both former world champions and among the most feared KO artists in the world during their prime.

Heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, 43, has predicted a victory for Mayweather Jr., who is trained by his father. Floyd Sr.

Former Barcelona Olympics gold medalist and welterweight king Oscar De La Hoya, a victim of both Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr., described Pacquiao as a “difficult fighter” who jumps from one side to another.

ATTACK

He said Mayweather Jr. might allow Pacquiao to attack him from pillar the post and cover his chin and breadbasket with his signature defense.

“Once Pacquiao tires out, Mayweather will launch his counter attack and pocket the round on the way to winning all the rounds,” stressed the Golden Boy, who lost by 8th round TKO to Pacquiao in December 2008.

Miguel Angel Cotto, who lost a decision to Mayweather Jr. and lost by 12th round TKO to Pacquiao, said the Filipino southpaw’s biggest weapon will be Freddie Roach.

Team Pacquiao heads for Las Vegas April 27 (April 28 in the Philippines) from the Hollywood accompanied by a horde of fans, family members, politicians, Philippine entertainers, and journalists on board a caravan that will pass the Mojave Desert in the Nevada.

NOW that the names of ring officials in the Fight of the Century in Las Vegas on May 2 have been revealed, the Doubting Thomases among Filipino fight fans are getting restless and paranoid.

Some have even cast doubts on the officials’ neutrality.

Others have lent credence on the vitriol of Oscar De La Hoya (39-6, 30 KOs) that third man in the ring, Kenny Bayless, may be a pro-Floyd Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs).

De La Hoya could be speaking from a personal experience or out of disgust after failing to obtain favors from the popular referee in the past; his opinion, nevertheless, does not transform Bayless into a hooligan.

De La Hoya cited one instance in Mayweather Jr’s fight against Marcos Rene Maidana (35-5, 31 KOs), where Bayless allegedly “had the bad habit of prematurely” separating the fighters even if they weren’t clinching.

This was when Maidana was about to deliver a coup de grace to Mayweather Jr., De La Hoya pointed out, thus instead of hurting the unbeaten WBA/WBC welterweight champion, Mayweather Jr. managed to survive and beat the Argentine customer on points after 12 rounds.

RESIDENTS

Both Mayweather Jr., 38, and Bayless, 63, are residents of Nevada. And both are black (but we don’t believe Bayless will mediate the bout base on race).

Two of the three judges also hail from Nevada: Burt Clements and Dave Moretti. Third judge Glenn Feldman is from Connecticut.

All ring officials are Americans like Mayweather Jr. No Filipino or Asian, for that matter, has been assigned as official.

They were all appointed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, where Bayless had served as inspector for six years before he became a referee.

Bayless is a former Physical Education (P.E) teacher and considers boxing officiating as a serious job. He cited Pacquiao’s brutal two-round KO of Ricky Hatton (45-3, 32 KOs) as the worst beating in boxing that he has officiated.

As Hatton laid flat on the canvas, his eyes were still open but were rolling and glassy, Bayless recalled. He called it a night.

Bayless, a father of three, considers the Bernard Hopkins (55-7-2, 32 KOs) versus De La Hoya duel on September 18, 2004 as the biggest fight that he has officiated.

It was witnessed by about 200 million people worldwide, he recalled.

CRY

He cried and considered quitting as ring arbiter more than 10 years ago when one of the fighters in the bout he had officiated in Las Vegas died of head injury, Bayless confessed in an HBO Sports interview last year.

Bayless was not yet involved in big time fights when Filipino referee, Carlos “Sonny” Padilla Jr., 80, was active in Las Vegas in the 70’s and 80’s.

As the ring officials undergo microscopic scrutiny, only Michael “Let’s-Get-Ready-To-Rumble” Buffer is free from doubts and reproach.

Like Caesar’s wife, only Buffer is considered by fans as above suspicion.

After all, he won’t hold any pen to decide the fates of Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs).

Buffer is “off limits” in as far as officiating is concerned. His role is only to introduce the protagonists and announce the winner.

But he is also a big Pacman fan. We once asked him who’s the greatest fighter in his opinion after Pacquiao stopped Miguel Angel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) in the 12th.

“Manny Pacquiao,” he remarked without any hesitation.

All officials, including, perhaps, Bob Arum, will be under intense scrutiny by fans, except Buffer.

“In boxing you create a strategy to beat each new opponent, it’s just like chess.” LENNOX LEWIS

By Alex P. Vidal

THE trick is to win every round.

Or majority of the 12 rounds.

There should be no room for error; a ring warrior mustn’t lower his guard during a fierce exchange or he’ll end up crossed-eyed and kissing the canvas.

If the triple (WBA/WBC/WBO) 147-pound championship setto goes the distance without any knockout, Manny Pacquiao will need to score at least 115 in the scorecards of two of the three judges to whip Floyd Mayweather Jr.

A fighter who loses 10-9 each in seven rounds and secures 10-9 win in five rounds accumulates 113.

If the third judge goes against Pacquiao, the Filipino lefty can still escape with a victory via split decision.

If the same judge agrees with his two colleagues and they all award the fight to Pacquiao, the congressman from Saranggani wins by unanimous decision.

If two of the three judges score draw apiece while the third one favors either Mayweather or Pacquiao, the bout will end up as majority draw.

If one judge sees Pacquiao the winner and the other sides with Mayweather, but the third judge submits a draw, the bout will be declared split draw.

SEVEN

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) has to win 10-9 in at least seven rounds even if he will yield the five to Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 KOs)–assuming there will be no knockdowns (a knockdown is automatically equivalent to 10-8).

Winning on points is Team Pacquiao’s plan B.

If Mayweather proves to be a hard nut to crack and won’t hit the canvas, he, too, is probably looking to wrap up the victory on points.

This must be Team Mayweather’s plan A.

Mayweather will endeavor to also win every round and halt Pacquiao, if possible.

Each fighter will hanker to score a KO or TKO victory. It’s a prizefighter’s natural instinct.

He smells blood and is always ready to annihilate his rival at all costs.

To win on points, both Mayweather and Pacquiao must focus on the following: 1. Defense 2. Effective hits 3. Ring generalship.

They may need a “blistering start” and “strong finish” but must not suffer serious cuts in the last four stanzas.

FULL

In high level battles, the protagonists need a full tank and second wind to survive 12 rounds.

With the quality of their training and preparations, Pacquiao and Mayweather appear to be ready to chase each other even for 15 rounds, the original distance of world championship bouts, which was reduced to 12 after the 1982 death of Deuk-koo Kim who suffered a brutal 14th-round TKO from Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini for the WBA lightweight title in Las Vegas.

Not known as a risky fighter, Mayweather must have devised a different strategy that will confuse Pacquiao, who expects the black American to fight defensively and stay away from the booby traps they invented in the Wild Card gym.

A better way to out-shuttle and outmaneuver Mayweather is for Pacquiao to follow him inch by inch so he can’t reload and maneuver a counter punch where Mayweather is more dangerous.

“The stroke of death is as a lover’s pinch, which hurts and is desired.” William Shakespeare

By Alex P. Vidal

FEUDING Bacolod politicians, Mayor Monico “Nyok” Puentevella and Rep. Evelio “Bing” Leonardia, are expected to meet again in Las Vegas, Nevada during the Fight of the Century between Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. on May 2.

Both Negros leaders are actually close buddies of the eight-time world titlist who speaks fluent Hiligaynon like them.

Sometime in August 2005, Puentevella visited Pacquiao in his training camp in the house of our friend, international promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, in Cebu City.

Pacquiao stopped training when he noticed that his friend, who was then “Congressman Puentevella”, was present.

Pacquiao was then revving up for his September bout against Hector Velasquez in Los Angeles.

Leonardia has been holding Pacquiao’s WBC belt during introduction since 2008 when Pacquiao eked out a 12-round split decision in a rematch against Juan Manuel Marquez.

When other interested characters (not Puentevella) tried to grab the belt from Leonardia during the Ricky Hatton fight in 2009, the traditional holding of belt has been stopped.

Leonardia was still there in the ring during introduction in Pacquiao’s succeeding fights, but he was already holding the Philippine flag.

Both Leonardia and Puentevella have not displayed any rancor and hostility while they were beside Pacquiao.

-o0o-

Warning to would-be politicians who are now starting to make rounds in the villages amid the searing summer heat in preparations for the 2016 elections: beware of heat stroke.

A 53-year-old tour guide from Guimaras Province, who spent many years in Canada after his retirement as sailor in the 90s, recently died of heat stroke in Iloilo City.

The tour guide, who once dabbled as bodyguard of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago when the later was campaigning for president in 1992, wanted to run for a public office in his province next year, thus he frequented various villages to shake the hands of constituents even if humidity was on its alarming heat these past months.

In one of his sorties, he collapsed and didn’t make it to the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City recently.

Who are prone to heat stroke?

According to health experts, they are those who have chronic illnesses like heart disease, obesity, alcoholism, old age, Parkinson’s disease, uncontrolled diabetes, those who use certain medications such as diuretics and antihistamines, and those who use some psychoactive drugs as alcohol and cocaine.

SUNSTROKE

Also known as sunstroke, thermic fever or siriasis, heat stroke occurs when our body’s mechanisms for controlling temperature fail, according to C.Health.

In other words, it’s a life-threatening emergency needing immediate treatment.

“While many people feel sick and faint during heat waves,” it explains, “most of these people are suffering from heat exhaustion, a related condition usually less serious than heat stroke.”

C.Health stresses that the causes of heat stroke is working or exercising in hot conditions or weather without drinking enough fluids.

“You can get heat stroke by not replacing lost fluids over days or weeks, or you can bring it on in a few hours by exercising strenuously on a hot day without drinking plenty of liquids first,” warns C.Health.

Why we need more liquids in the body, especially this summer?

C.Health says liquids help to cool us down by allowing the body to produce sweat.

“However,” it stresses, “liquids are also necessary for bodily functions, such as keeping up blood pressure. You can lose large amounts of body fluid in the form of sweat without noticing any effects, but at a certain point the body will reserve the remaining fluid for vital functions and stop sweating.

“When working in humid conditions, the core temperature rises more rapidly. This is why forecasts add a humidity factor or heat index to represent how you will actually feels outdoors.”

HEAVY

Health experts also warn that heavy clothing and some skin conditions can also contribute to the occurrence of heat stroke.

The symptoms of heat stroke are quite different from those of heat exhaustion, C.Health warns further.

A person suffering from heat exhaustion will usually be sweating profusely in an attempt to get rid of excess heat, it explains.

“Someone with heat stroke has stopped sweating, due to a failure in his or her heat control system. High core temperatures damage the internal organs, especially the brain. The fluid loss can also produce dangerously low blood pressure,” C.Health points out.

“Most people who are killed by heat stroke die when their heart stops pumping effectively (circulatory failure). Even people who survive are likely to have permanent brain damage if their core temperature has been over 40.6C (105F) for more than an hour or two.”